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Trigger - aka Colin Ball
Trigger (Colin Ball) was a regular character in Only Fools And Horses throughout the shows run and in the prequel Rock And Chips. He also appeared in the first episode of the spin off Green, Green Grass. Trigger was the local dimwit, yet actually he thought everyone else was one and that he was the clever one. He was sharper in the early years as he was a dodgy dealer who sold fellow dodgy dealer Del Boy stolen goods. Also Trigger could be sly and crafty at times when he once stole The Nags Head cigarette machine, emptied to contents then put the machine back. Trigger always used to call Rodney Trotter "Dave". Trigger was a friend and former schoolfriend of Del Boy, Roy Slater, Boycie and Denzel. Trigger was played by Roger Lloyd Pack. Biography Backstory Colin Ball was born in April 1945 in Peckham, London, SE15 to Elsie Ann Ball. Colin had a sister, probably a half sister as Elsie never married, and Colin's father was allegedly a soldier. Colin was a slow child and a slow learner at school. The classes were not big but they had high ceilings. As a child Trigger used to eat wood and laughed at the TV, when it was off. Del always found him a bit odd. One day in about 1954 or 1955, a bullet ricocheted and hit Trigger on the head. Del partially blamed this on why Trigger became like he was, even though he was a bit odd beforehand. Trigger went to school with Del, Boycie, Denzel Tulser, Roy Slater, Jumbo Mills and Camerarderie. Due to his haircut he later gained the nickname "Trigger" as his haircut made him look like a horse. Around 1963-1964, Slater planted some Green Shield stamps on Trigger and he got put away for 18 months in a young offenders home. When he got out he got an electric blanket and a radio with them. Enough to make anyone want a cognac quick after hearing that story. Trigger was not bright at all but he had more common sense as in 1977 he started to dabble in stolen gear, and even nick stuff with mates so he could sell them to traders, especially Del Boy. Briefcases, tins of paint etc. In 1981 he had to arrange an alibi for next Tuesday. Trigger still had that type of haircut that made him look like a horse, so he was given the nickname Trigger due to the famous horse that Roy Rogers had stuffed. 1981-2003, 2005 In 1981, Trigger was a road sweeper but also remained as a part time dealer who used to sell stolen goods to local market traders including his best friend Del Boy Trotter. He sold his some dodgy briefcases and paint, which him and some mates stole from a railway station. In early 1985 he cleverly stole the cigarette machine from The Nags Head and also stole the burglar alarm. Later in 1985, Trigger was a suspect in a diamond smuggling caper but was dismissed as being too daft. By 1986, Trigger stopped dealing to Del as much, he had a lesser role in Del's trading business. He did nick a pork pie off Mike at The Nags Head in 1989 and gave it to Del, even though he denied he nicked it. Trigger got a bit more dense as he got older. He took things literally all the time. When the boys used to crack jokes, Trig would wait until they finished laughing, then would laugh himself. In 1996, Trigger would win a medal for keeping the same broom for 20 years. It has 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time. Trigger thought Gandhi was someone who made 1 great film then you never saw him again. According to Del's autobiography He Who Dares, from 2015, Reg Trotter was a suspect as to who could be Trigger's real father. OMG, Del and Trig as half siblings. The real father was believed to be Donald Turpin though. Del's book also says that Trigger is retired now. Observations Personality Believe it or not, Trigger was much sharper in the early years of the show. He was a small time crook who stole goods to sell to his mates. He was never Einstein (or Epstein in his book) but was much more with it. Del once said in his 2015 autobiography He Who Dares that sometimes his dippy brother Rodney "made Trigger look like Stephen Dawkings". Trigger usually said some of the silliest things. He misunderstood even the simplest of jokes. One time Del said how women always seem to correct men even when they ask them a question, it gets answered and the woman seems to correct them anyhow. Del, Denzel, Boycie and Mike all say "Why ask" at the same time. A few seconds later Trigger says "Why ask" very foolishly. When Del and the boys found out that retired jeweller Arnie was a conman and was faking heart attacks so he could make off with the money and the gold chains leaving no contact details, Trigger thought Arnie should be taking things easy in his condition. Del had to explain that Arnie is not a sick man but a con man. Trigger then even asked what Arnie's alleged seller Mr Stavros had to do with it, when it was obvious that Stavros never existed. Well, Arnie seemed to know him pretty well, according to Trigger. Del tried to explain further but gave up. Del even used the expression "Keep your ear to the ground" and told Trigger not to take it literally, it just means "listen out". Another example of Trigger's inability to get a simple joke or metaphor is when Rodney talked about a black hole in our universe, Trigger asked what the government are going to do about it. Rodney was about to say nothing they can do but then decided to make a sarcastic remark "They are going to send navvies up with a spaceship full of bricks", Trigger replied with "No they will need more than one". Why does Trigger call Rodney "Dave"? The real reason why Trigger called Rodney "Dave" was never 100% revealed. It could be that Trigger was so stupid that he had this idea in his head that Rodney was called "Dave". Even when Rodney called Trigger out on it, Trigger asked if Rodney was sure his name was Rodney. Trig then asked if Dave is a nickname. Rodney said to Trigger that he is the only one who calls him Dave, and that everyone else calls him Rodney. Quotes Trigger has had some cracking quotes over the years, some of them veer on sheer stupidity. Here are several memorable Trigger-isms. From Homesick *'Trigger': Yeah you were at the funeral weren't you Dave? *'Rodney': Trig why do you call me Dave? My name is not Dave. My name is Rodney. *'Trigger': I thought it was Dave. *'Rodney': No its Rodney. *'Trigger': Are you sure? *'Rodney': Yeah positive, I have looked it up on my passport and birth certificate. It is definitely Rodney. *'Trigger': Oh well you live and learn. So what is Dave then? Nickname like? *'Rodney': No you are the only one who calls me Dave. Everyone else calls me Rodney. And the reason they call me Rodney is because Rodney is my name. *'Trigger': Oh well I shall have to get used to calling you Rodney. *'Rodney': Thank you. *'Trigger': Oi Basil, you gonna get this meeting started, me and Dave aint got all night. *'Rodney': Rodneyyy!! From Dates Unusally, Trigger has a date tonight with a woman he met at a dating agency. *'Trigger': I've got a date. *'Rodney': Oh you wanna watch them stones because Del got one caught in his throat once. *'Trigger': No Dave I have a lunch date with a lady. Trig says a dating agency arranged it for him. *'Trigger: That is what I like about these agencies. They insist on honesty. *'Boycie: So you told them you were a road sweeper? *'Trigger': No. I told them I was a bus inspector. *'Mike': Why? *'Trigger': To add a bit of glamour. From The Class of '62 For the school reunion, the boys are meeting in a function room upstairs at The Nags Head. *'Trigger': I got lost on my way here. *'Denzil': You have been coming to this pub since you were 16. *'Trigger': I know I found the pub alright, I just could not find this room. I've been standing in your dance hall for the last hour. *'Mike': All the lights are out Trig. *'Trigger': I know. *'Boycie': You have been standing in the dark for an hour? *'Trigger': Yeah. I thought we were all going to jump out and surprise someone. *'Mike': But there is no one else in there. *'Trigger': I did not know that did I? The lights were out. Later on in the same episode:- *'Boycie': (To Trigger) How can you drink with Slater? When he is the one who stitched you up over those knocked off stamps and put you away for 18 months? *'Trigger': I know. But when I got out I got an electric blanket and a radio with them. *'Del Boy': Fancy a cognac? *'Boycie': And quick. From Time On Our Hands *'Rodney': And as Andy Warhol said, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. *'Denzil': How can everyone be famous for 15 minutes? There's not enough time in the world is there? *'Rodney': Not everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, he was just generalising upon modern society. Some people become famous for a little while then disappear like Renee And Renato, Simon Dee.... *'Trigger': Or Gandhi. *'Rodney': Yeah exactly. So maybe this time it is our....Gandhi? *'Trigger': Yeah. I mean he made one great film and then you never saw him again. *'Del Boy': (To Rodney, Denzil, Boycie and Mike) No, lets go. Lets go. (They leave Trig sat on his own). From If They Could See Us Now *'Rodney': What you doing here Trig? *'Trigger': Well Del said he'd give me a lift to the pub. *'Rodney': But you live closer to the pub than us. In fact you have to walk past the pub to get to this flat. *'Trigger': Yeah. But Del said he'd give me a lift. Memorable info Born: 28th April 1945 Full Name: Colin Ball Parents: Elsie Ann Ball and Donald Turpin (Most likely suspect for paternity) Siblings: 1 sister Grandfathers: Arthur Ball Grandmothers: Alice Ball Aunts: Reenie Turpin Nieces: Lisa Cousins: Cyril, Marilyn, Ronnie Occupation: Road sweeper (1960-c2010), Dodgy goods dealer (1981-1987), Retired (2010-present) Category:Only Fools And Horses Characters. Category:Main characters. Category:Rock And Chips Characters. Category:Characters first seen in 1981. Category:Characters last seen in 2003. Category:Ball family. Category:1945 births. Category:Dealers. Category:Road sweepers.